Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- an arena or structure for equestrian and other spectacles.
- (in ancient Greece and Rome) an oval track for horse races and chariot races.
noun
- a music hall, variety theatre, or circus
- (in ancient Greece or Rome) an open-air course for horse and chariot races
1580s, from French hippodrome, from Latin hippodromos “race course,” from Greek hippodromos “chariot road, race course for chariots,” from hippos “horse” (see equine) + dromos “course” (see dromedary). In modern use for “circus performance place,” and thus extended to “large theater for stage shows.”